


Ruby's Dress

by usermechanics



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Dia's a dork, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Marriage preparations, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 02:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11980077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usermechanics/pseuds/usermechanics
Summary: Dia, Ruby, and Chika head to Tokyo to get Ruby's wedding dress. Dia and Ruby never realized how big of fans they were of their tailor's work.





	Ruby's Dress

Dia _still_ couldn't believe that Ruby was getting married in a week.

Thankfully, she was able to rely on Mari for most of the financial burden, if only for the reason that Mari wanted to. Even through weeks of bickering, it was quite clear that the blonde had wanted to make sure that Ruby and Hanamaru would have been given the best day of matrimony, up to the cake being taller than Kanan on Mari's shoulders. She also bought the wedding dresses out of pocket, from one of the highest-end tailors in the country: a Tokyo-based dressmaker who went by Birdie. Dia hadn't even heard of Birdie, but apparently they were the be-all-end-all go-to for tailors, with a four-star rating being an insult to their mastery of design.

What made it worse was that Mari and You had already started providing for the catering. Rather, Mari had scouted You into cooking some meals for the celebration and left Dia to go to Tokyo, apparently alone. What's even worse was that today was the day for pick-up, a day practically lost in the blur that was preparing for the wedding. Of course, Dia had been panicking slightly; she didn't want to ruin anything for Ruby, especially something as important as _this,_ but also that meant she had to do all these things including going _there_ not only to get there but to get back home.

"Onee-chan?" Ruby's voice came from behind the door, a tad tentative, as per usual.

"Come in," said Dia, attempting to calm her nerves before her sister came in.

The door opened, and there Ruby was, in a flowing pink sweatshirt and a navy skirt that went down to her knees. It was pretty clear that, despite having worried about the wedding for some time, she didn't have much to do today, and perhaps she was going to rest around the house or spend some time with herself between long preparation sessions and understanding the rituals that she were to go through. The redhead ran up to her older sister and embraced her with a large smile on her face, nuzzling cheek to cheek.

"I finished studying the rituals for today!" Ruby's voice was full of excitement, almost as if the worry which she had about the wedding have gone away when she stepped into the room.

"That's amazing!" Dia chimed as she nuzzled her little sister, pulling away with a smile about as large as Ruby's. "I was planning on picking up the dress today, considering that it's ready. Would you be willing to go with me there?"

"Yes!" Ruby's excitement had almost started to affect how she was breathing, her heart practically in her throat as she realized that today would be the day that she'd be seeing the dress she'd walk down the aisle besides Hanamaru in. "I'd love to go with you!"

Dia let out a sigh of relief, glad that she would have a bit of company, but there was something off about both of them going alone to Tokyo. They were Kurosawas, but they knew nothing about Birdie, except for how ambiguous he was. Or was Birdie a she? Mari had to draw into a fund which was slightly more than Ruby's net worth for the dress, and what if Birdie was disrespectful towards them? She didn't want to have Ruby's feelings completely crushed.

So she made a call to a close friend, one especially close to Ruby, who would make sure that they weren't destroyed by the fashion designer. After all, it wouldn't be the first time she called out someone regardless of their relative standing.

"Hello, is Chika there?"

"Dia! Hi! What's up?"

"Well, I was planning on going to Tokyo with Ruby to pick up the dress, and I was wondering if you wanted to join us."

"I'd love to! I'll meet you at the train station, okay?"

"Okay, Chika. We'll see you over there."

"Bye!"

Chika hung up, and Dia looked over to Ruby with a smile and a nod.

"She'll be joining us. Shall we head over to the station?"

\--

Chika stood in front of the station, happily chomping on mikan while waiting for Dia and Ruby to show up to the station. It wasn't hard to spot them: Ruby's adoration for pink clothes and her unique hair color made her easy to spot while Dia's beaming self-confidence made her presence known.

"Oi! Dia! Ruby!"

While Dia had kept walking towards the station, as Ruby heard Chika's voice, she started running towards her, immediately embracing the tangerine-eater with a wide smile on her face. Chika reciprocated in kind, her smile beaming, knowing about how excited she had been. Considering that she herself had grown excited about the wedding happening, why shouldn't the special one be?

"Good morning, Chika-san," Dia greeted her as she approached the two of them.

"Morning," Chika returned in kind, swallowing the last section of mikan she had. "I take it you guys are ready for the train ride?"

Ruby replied with a happy squeak, squeezing Chika further, while Dia gave the two of them a nod. Ruby pulled herself off of Chika and they entered the station, quick to board the first train that was heading for Tokyo that day.

As Dia sat down on the train, she looked over to Ruby and Chika, who were sitting next to her. It was unbelievable to think that it had been five years since they met Chika, and in truth it was impossible for her to be too grateful of what she had been able to do. Saving Uranohoshi was one thing, but for Chika to successfully unite a sparsely-connected web of friends to become the basis for two weddings (with the other being the maritime-based lovers of You and Kanan) almost seemed to be unnatural. It was because of her that this wedding was happening, too, and at the grand-scale that only Mari would be able to make it. However, she couldn't really give her thanks because Chika was napping on the train, leaning onto Ruby who in turn was leaning on her. Maybe this wedding was how she would be able to repay her, in some way, but she knew that a third wedding was quickly on the heels of this one, starring Chika with Riko.

As the train stopped, Chika and Ruby awoke, and as they left the train and into the Tokyo station, Chika stood between the Kurosawas, Dia squeezing her hand as they walked through the station. Dia feared of getting lost again, even at the age of 22, but thankfully the mikan was able to breeze through the crowds of people, the wicked city unable to shatter Chika's ultimate goal of reaching the tailor's.

Birdie's was, on the exterior, a bit of a hole, to say the very least, which didn't make much sense to Dia considering how much Mari had paid for a dress from this run-down shack. However, as she reviewed the address that Mari had given her, she knew that this was the place that they were supposed to be, and as such, Dia stood in front of the doors, giving Chika and Ruby (but particularly Chika) a quick lecture.

"We don't have a lot of time to be here, and we're not here for much. We need to see if Ruby's dress needs to be resized in any way. If it does, we come back tomorrow after they resize it. If it doesn't, then we show that she is Ruby, finish the copayment, and go home with the dress. I'm not going to deal with any shenanigans for something so special." With that, Dia turned around and opened the door, walking into the building and holding the door open for her two friends.

The receptionist, clad in all black, looked up demurely, a set of wide, purple eyes gently scanning the trio who had entered. Her short, brown hair seemed almost like a bowl, with her bangs swooping across the right side of her forehead. Gently, a slightly-trembling hand nudged her glasses upwards, and, with not a lot of confidence, she greeted the three of them.

"H-hello! Welcome to Birdie's!"

 _No way,_ both Kurosawas thought in unison. It was almost surreal to see someone who looked like someone so special to them, but the voice had given it away, even if the glasses and hairstyle didn't. _Koizumi Hanayo,_ the _Koizumi Hanayo, works as a receptionist?_

"Can I have a name to see if Birdie's made something for you?"

Chika looked towards Dia and Ruby, who both seemed to have frozen in place, completely overjoyed at their discovery. To Chika, she looked halfway familiar, but it wasn't to the extent that Dia, and especially Ruby, was having about the encounter. "Kurosawa Ruby." Chika complied to her request, only for Dia and Ruby to give one further request.

Each had pulled out a pad, just in case they had found an idol, and they bowed in unison, pushing their pads in front of them. "Please give me your autograph!"

Hanayo jumped for a moment, µ's having been pretty much forgotten after the seventh Love Live. She didn't expect people to remember who she was; they all wanted Honoka's signature, or they would look for Nico Nii, who after a successful solo career had seemed to vanish into the great beyond. Timidly, she signed both of the pads, eliciting giggles from the sisters before both of them gave her a hug, the contact enough for Hanayo to let out a loud gasp.

"Somebody help me!" Ruby almost fainted as she heard what some considered Hanayo's catchphrase to be in the flesh, Dia happily nuzzling the receptionist for a few more moments before pulling away. Ruby quickly followed suit before they both looked to Chika, who was in a bit of confusion from what was going on.

"Dia? Why did you hug the receptionist?" Chika asked, trying to make sense of what she did.

"The _receptionist_ is nobody else but Koizumi Hanayo, one of the singers from µ's! Ruby's favorite idol, too!"

Indeed, Ruby was standing there, in complete awe, at the signature that Hanayo gave to her, the timid ex-idol's request for help fulfilled by Birdie herself.

Birdie was slightly taller than her receptionist, a tad bustier, and ultimately just a slightly larger person than Hanayo was. Much like Hanayo, she was in all black, which worked well with her pale skin and brown eyes, which were soft and almost seemed to droop a bit. However, it was nothing compared to her hair: long, and slightly lighter than her receptionist's, the designer had seemed to have her hair in a side loop, held together by a green ribbon.

Dia and Ruby knew _exactly_ how receptionist and designer met, and they both let out a squeal of happiness before Chika placed a hand on each of their shoulders, signifying that they were being much too loud.

Dia didn't bother apologizing to Chika, but rather, she decided to justify herself once more. "I can't believe it! Minami Kotori, µ's costume designer, made my sister's wedding dress!" Chika kept her hand on Dia's shoulder in the event that she faint from the revelation, Ruby herself practically running up to the designer to get another autograph.

"Are you Kurosawa Ruby?" Kotori asked her with a smile, having heard of her through Honoka, who had been carefully monitoring Love Live for some time after they participated in the contest. Kotori herself was having trouble staying still when meeting Ruby; through everything, it was hard for her to hold herself high when she was talking to someone as cute as her.

"Yes! That's me! I've been a huge fan of µ's and I'm honored to meet you!" Ruby let out, boundless energy being released from her before embracing the former idol. With a pat of her head, Kotori requested Ruby to let go such that she could get her the wedding dress Mari ordered from her. Ruby, of course, followed, getting ready to put on the dress.

Chika turned to Ruby with a smile; even if they were being a bit disruptive, it didn't seem to matter to Kotori. She looked for Dia for a moment, having noted that she had apparently left the building for a moment. She didn't understand _why_ Dia did, but she probably did for a good enough reason. Regardless, she turned to Hanayo with a smile.

"I'm kinda sorry about that. I didn't realize how big of fans that they were of µ's. I know they loved you guys as performers, but I didn't expect something like this to happen."

"I-it's okay," Hanayo started. "Sometimes people come in here just for autographs. We used to have people come in and fill in their orders, but we became too popular for Kotori to handle. We tried relocating, but it didn't work. We tried making it so Kotori never came into contact with people, but that didn't work, even after she changed her name to Birdie. So, we just had to raise our prices because of the novelty of having dresses worn by her. It lowered the amount of people who came in."

Ruby walked back out, the ensemble which she had worn now replaced by a very elegant dress. Her shoulders were mostly covered by a sheer, white lace pattern, which seemed to adorn a majority of the high-cut top of the garment, covering what would on most other dresses be a cleavage window (a good choice there, considering Ruby's slight androphobia). A series of ruffles around Ruby's torso ran down her front, until it reached about her hips. The skirt poofed out, a third of a meter about the redhead, and it was evident that, despite being unable to see Ruby's legs, each layer of the dress was a thin, translucent sheet of silk. It had been a work of absolute beauty and it fit perfectly on every curve of her body. Chika stared at her with her mouth agape, completely surprised at the sheer skill that Kotori had in her craftsmanship. You wouldn't be able to compare to this, and that was fair: it's not like You already had a job working as a fisherwoman, a job she had taken from her father.

At this point, Dia had walked into the shop with a large bowl of rice in one hand and a cheesecake in the other. She placed the bowl of rice on the receptionist's desk while she hadn't been looking before she gave the cheesecake to Kotori, both of the former members of µ's quite happy with Dia's gifts. With Hanayo starting her bowl of food, Chika took a look to Dia, who was busy looking at the dress that Ruby wore.

No wonder why Mari seemed to pay off several souls' worth of money on such an elegant dress, especially one made by not necessarily the best, but the most famous fashion designer of all Japan. It didn't matter to her, however. It had been paid off, and the tips that she had given in the form of food seemed to have sated both the receptionist and the designer, the latter of whom had placed her food down so that she could get a glimpse as to how Ruby looked in the dress.

"How do you like it?" Kotori asked.

"I absolutely love it!" Ruby cried, tears of joy starting to leak from her eyes as she embraced the designer once more in gratitude, completely broken as to how someone so legendary could make something so beautiful and comfortable. She pulled away to look in a full-length mirror, almost breathless at how this was what she would be wearing, arm in arm with Hanamaru. _Kurosawa_ Hanamaru.

Dia and Chika agreed with Ruby's statement. Ruby headed off with Kotori to her dressing room, and Dia headed to the counter to pay off the final fees, for which Mari provided her a keg's worth of stewshine in monetary assets. The price of several thousand yen didn't seem to affect them as much as she expected it to. They waited for Ruby to come out, and as she did, she held her dress in a long, black bag, completely covering the special garment and protecting it from whatever came in between them and getting home.

"Thank you for shopping with us!" Hanayo called out to them as they left the store, happy, bubbly, and ready for the events that would transpire in a week from today.

**Author's Note:**

> This was fun to write, especially after all of that smut I've done. I've always kinda wanted to write something where Dia and Ruby get to be idol dorks.


End file.
